Farron to attend NUJ lobby proposed cuts to save BBC Radio Cumbria

Cumbrian MP, Tim Farron, is today attending a lobby of Parliament by the National Union of Journalists to meet with representatives and listen to their objections over proposals by the BBC to make drastic cuts to local radio services, and in particular to Radio Cumbria.

The two-hour session will see a variety of presentations over the plans which form part of the BBC's 'Delivering Quality First' programme, resulting in cuts on average of 12% to all local radio stations in England and a 20% reduction in funding for BBC Radio Cumbria. This will be followed by an open meeting, giving members of the public the chance to raise their concerns.

On paper under these proposals BBC Radio Cumbria will be forced to axe the equivalent of 9.4 full time equivalent posts. In reality this would translate to 12 or 13 members of staff losing their jobs - around a third of the station's workforce. The station would also lose at least 50 hours of local programming every week as it is forced to share more programming with other local radio stations.

Commenting Tim said: "BBC Radio Cumbria provides an invaluable service to our community - we rely on it for our news, comment, entertainment, travel and weather information. Our county would be lost without the vital up-to-date information it has provided residents during terrible events such as the Foot and Mouth disaster, the Cumbria floods, and the Grayrigg crash that were all delivered with a deep understanding and love for the community they serve.

"Since the campaign to save BBC Radio Cumbria began, I've been speaking to people all across Cumbria who share my desire to save our much loved local BBC radio station. This afternoon will be a great opportunity to hear from the journalists that make BBC Radio Cumbria the fantastic service that it is, and through this to put further pressure on the BBC Trust to urgently rethink their proposals."